Tawny Port stamped his ticket to Louisville be winning the Stonestreet L:exington (Photo credit Keeneland Racecourse).
Peachtree Stable’s Tawny Port took charge from Major General inside the sixteenth pole and pulled clear to post a 1-length victory in the 40th running of the $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3) for 3-year-olds.
Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Tawny Port completed the mile and a sixteenth on the fast main track in 1:45.24. It is the second victory in the race for Cox and Geroux, who teamed to win the 2019 running with Owendale.
With the victory, Tawny Port added 20 points to his Road to the Kentucky Derby total to boost his total to 60, good for 11th place and a spot in the starting gate that is limited to the top 20 point earners that pass the entry box on May 2.
Major General picked up 8 points for finishing second to boost his total to 18 points, good for 27th place. In Due Time added 4 points for third to bring his total to 24 points, good for 22nd. Ethereal Road added 2 points for finishing fourth to bring his total to 22 points, good for 23rd.
Major General led the field of 11 through fractions of :23.85, :48.01 and 1:12.45 while being tracked by Strava and Dash Attack with Tawny Port racing in midpack.
Lexington Replay
Major General maintained the lead into the stretch, but Geroux had Tawny Port in the clear in the middle of the track and gradually wore down the leader.
A Keeneland sales graduate, Tawny Port is a Kentucky-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile out of the Macho Uno mare Livi Makenzie. In posting his first graded stakes victory, Tawny Port improved his record to 5-3-1-0 and boosted his earnings to $427,000 with Saturday’s $229,400 check.
Tawny Port returned $12.20, $6.40 and $3.80. Major General, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., returned $7.60 and $4.80 and finished 1½ lengths ahead of favored In Due Time, who paid $2.80 to show under Paco Lopez.
It was another length back to Ethereal Road with Strava, Dash Attack, Midnight Chrome, Howling Time, Call Me Midnight, Skate to Heaven and We All See It following in order.
Road to the Kentucky Derby Points Standings
| Rk. | Horse | Pts. | Trainer | *Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epicenter | 164 | Steve Asmussen | $940,000 |
| 2 | Zandon | 114 | Chad Brown | $663,500 |
| 3 | White Abarrio | 112 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $769,650 |
| 4 | Mo Donegal | 112 | Todd Pletcher | $561,500 |
| 5 | Tiz the Bomb | 110 | Kenny McPeek | $1,012,610 |
| 6 | Cyberknife | 100 | Brad Cox | $752,000 |
| 7 | Crown Pride | 100 | Koichi Shintani | $671,544 |
| 8 | Taiba | 100 | Tim Yakteen | $450,000 |
| 9 | Simplification | 74 | Tami Bobo | $482,150 |
| 10 | Smile Happy | 70 | Kenny McPeek | $499,410 |
| 11 | Tawny Port | 60 | Brad Cox | $351,400 |
| 12 | Barber Road | 58 | John Ortiz | $589,700 |
| 13 | Un Ojo | 54 | Ricky Courville | $661,250 |
| 14 | Early Voting | 50 | Chad Brown | $277,500 |
| 15 | Morello | 50 | Steve Asmussen | $242,500 |
| 16 | Messier | 40 | Tim Yakteen | $390,000 |
| 17 | Zozos | 40 | Brad Cox | $200,000 |
| 18 | Summer Is Tomorrow | 40 | Bhupat Seemar | $200,000 |
| 19 | Charge It | 40 | Todd Pletcher | $188,000 |
| 20 | Happy Jack | 30 | Doug O’Neill | $142,000 |
| 21 | Pioneer of Medina | 25 | Todd Pletcher | $116,000 |
| 22 | In Due Time | 24 | Kelly Breen | $113,800 |
| 23 | Ethereal Road | 22 | D. Wayne Lukas | $231,000 |
| 24 | Rich Strike | 21 | Eric Reed | $74,500 |
| 25 | Rattle N Roll | 20 | Kenny McPeek | $356,500 |
